DLP explained
For more than 100 years, there’s been a gradual shift in technology occurring in how data is stored and accessed. This shift stretches back to when information was printed and stored in physical files and filing cabinets, to when information became digitized and data began being stored in digital files and folders on hard drives, to more recently with data being uploaded and stored in the cloud. This progression in data storage and accessibility tends to yield more agile communication and has the following advantages for end users:
- Digital data occupies less physical space.
- Publishing and distributing digital documents cost less than physical ones.
- Digital documents tend to be more environmentally friendly than printed ones.
- With the proper precautions in place, end users can determine what data or files they need to access from the cloud and then access it as needed from any device.
Paired with all the benefits of using new technology, such as cloud storage, are the challenges for maintaining data security and integrity. These challenges include preventing data loss and disruption and avoiding cyber attacks, data leaks, and similar digital threats.
Egress Software Technologies reports that during 2020, “95% of organizations say that they’ve suffered [some form of] data loss”.1 The report argues that data is the most at risk in email and notes the following statistics about vulnerable data, emails, data loss, and data breaches:
- 85% of employees are sending more emails.
- 83% of organizations [are] experiencing email data breaches.
- 59% of IT leaders report an increase in data loss linked to the pandemic.
- 68% of IT leaders believe that a future remote and flexible workforce will make it harder to prevent email data breaches.1
Today’s organizations apply data loss prevention (DLP) practices, strategies, and techniques to prevent or otherwise mitigate these threats and to help ensure the protection of their data. Proofpoint notes that “organizations are adopting DLP because of insider threats and rigorous data privacy laws, many of which have stringent data protection or data access requirements”2 and for support with “monitoring and controlling endpoint activities”.2
Techopedia defines DLP as “the identification and monitoring of sensitive data to ensure that it’s only accessed by authorized users and that there are safeguards against data leaks”.3 This definition notes that “the adoption of DLP in 2006 [was] triggered by insider threats [and] more stringent state privacy laws”.3 A means of keeping important or sensitive data secure, DLP helps keep data from being accessed by unauthorized users or otherwise passing over a perimeter gateway device. DLP tools help monitor and manage activities and perform actions like filtering data streams and protecting dynamic data.
Proofpoint offers a simplified definition of DLP, noting that it “makes sure that users do not send sensitive or critical information outside the corporate network”2. The definition continues, stating that DLP “describes software products that help a network administrator control the data that users can transfer”.2